October 11, 2009

Earth Science Week - sand and the nine big ideas

This is Earth Science Week, in the
US at least. It's an idea that deserves, through globalisation or international
intellectual contagion, to be celebrated worldwide. Sponsored by the American
Geological Institute, and supported by a consortium of earth science
organisations, it is also underpinned by the Earth Science Literacy
Initiative funded by the National Science Foundation:

The Earth Science Literacy Initiative (ESLI).... has gathered and codified
the underlying understandings of Earth sciences into a succinct document that
will have broad-reaching applications in both public and private arenas. It
establishes the “Big Ideas” and supporting concepts that all Americans should
know about Earth sciences. The resulting Earth Science Literacy framework will
also become part of the foundation, along with similar documents from the
Oceans, Atmospheres and Climate communities, of a larger geoscience Earth
Systems Literacy effort.

The primary outcome of the Earth Science Literacy Initiative is a
community-based document that clearly and succinctly states the underlying
principles and ideas of Earth science across a wide variety of research fields
that are funded through the NSF-EAR program, including Geobiology and
Low-Temperature Geochemistry, Geomorphology and Land-Use Dynamics, Geophysics,
Hydrologic Sciences, Petrology and Geochemistry, Sedimentary Geology and
Paleobiology, and Tectonics.

It goes (I hope) without saying that the fundamentals of Earth Science
Literacy are principles that all human inhabitants of our planet should be
familiar with - a utopian aspiration perhaps, but it would arguably make our
planet a better place. The fundamentals have been distilled into nine "Big
Ideas," each with its own set of supporting concepts, and the summary and
guide can be downloaded from the website as a pdf. And it's a compelling
document; an Earth Science literate person is defined as someone who

• understands the fundamental concepts of Earth’s many systems

• knows how to find and assess scientifically credible information about
Earth

• communicates about Earth science in a meaningful way

• is able to make informed and responsible decisions regarding Earth and its
resources

As I read through the nine Big Ideas (and being the arenophile that I am), I
was struck by the way in which the stories that sand has to tell can form a
theme, a narrative thread that weaves through each of the ideas, illustrating
and developing. So below are the nine Big Ideas, each one illustrated by sand,
together with links to posts on Through the Sandglass that are but a minor
sampling of those stories. This is, on the one hand, something of an indulgence,
a sort of retrospective of this blog so far, but, on the other hand, I would
like to think that it might be an inspiration, a different, and
entertaining, route to Earth Science Literacy.

1. Earth scientists use repeatable observations and testable ideas to
understand our planet. And a large variety of scientific principles are
harnessed to reveal the complexities of the earth system.

Whether it's in the field or the laboratory, as providing vital testaments to
the Earth's history or revelations on surface processes and the bizarre
behaviours of granular materials, sand and sandstones provide crucial evidence
and insights. Sedimentary
structures allow reconstruction of past environments and events, a typical
integration of fundamental physics, engineering, mathematics, and fieldwork led
to our first understanding of how
deserts work, and analysis, through granular physics, of the underlying
laws of natural systems sheds light on a wide
range of phenomena.

2. Earth is 4.6 billion years old. And throughout its
history enormous changes have occurred through gradual and catastrophic
processes.

The age of our planet is determined from meteorites and lunar materials, but
the oldest bits and pieces formed on the earth itself are sand grains - zircons
from Australia dating back more than 4.2 billion years. And zircon grains have
many tales to tell of our planet's tumultuous history of change. And then the
entire sedimentary
record of the earth's history, incomplete
and variable as it is, represents the fundamental ledgers of the saga.

3. Earth is a complex system of interacting rock, water, air, and
life.

Whether inorganic in origin, formed from the disintegration of rocks under
the assault of atmospheric weathering, or biogenic, formed from shell and other
organic debris, sand tells the stories of chemical and hydrologic cycles, energy
and material transfer, and mass balances of natural materials. The size of sand
grains influences
the appearance of the entire planet.

4. Earth is continuously changing.

Sand, by its very nature, is perhaps the most dynamic of natural
materials, and geological change on a human timescale is daily illustrated by shape-shifting
bodies of sand on our coasts,
in our oceans, and
in our rivers and deserts.

And sand represents a huge resource in countless ways. Electronics,
concrete,
and precious
minerals are but a few examples of sand as a resource - and think how much
of our water and hydrocarbons reside in the pore spaces between the grains of
sand and sandstone reservoirs.

8. Natural hazards pose risks to humans.

The residents of New Orleans or Samoa whose houses were filled with sand
following hurricane Katrina and the recent tsunamis are only too aware of this.
The good folk of the Red
River Valley, desperately filling sandbags during the floods of earlier this
year know all about natural hazards. Desert towns around the world face the threat
of moving sand every day. But careful earth science investigation of
past catastrophes - for example, tsunami
forensics - can help us understand these risks and prepare for future
events.

9. Humans significantly alter the earth.

Boy, do we ever. Earth Science Week this year is dedicated to climate change,
but there are endless other examples of our footprint. We dramatically change sediment
budgets, altering our coasts
on a daily basis; we completely disrupt the natural dynamics
of rivers and their sediment
transport role. And we do these things often for the most trivial
and short-term reasons.

Comments

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As a geological studies student at the University of Southern California, I understand the implications of human actions on global occurrences are considerably more complex than originally thought. While the public may recognize the geoscience issues are becoming more relevant, the scientific facts and information available might not be presented in way that most people would be able to comprehend. I agree that it is our job, as those better educated in these issues, to effectively communicate to the public: (1) skills necessary to separate accurate data from scientific propaganda, and (2) factual information directly related to the quality of human life. This belief that these basic skills and knowledge would allow the public to make better decisions, not only about geoscience issues but other aspects of their lives, stress the importance of Earth Science Week. I appreciate your dedication to this event, one I was not aware of prior to your post.

Your interpretation of the “Big Ideas” presented by the Earth Science Literacy Initiative using sand as a common theme was very thought provoking. I realize this post is an indulgence of your arenophile tendencies, and hope to inspire a different route to Earth Science Literacy, but I wonder if some of the connections made might be over simplifying the actual “Big Idea”. I agree with the example of sand grains, zircons, being used comprehend the chaotic history of change undergone by the Earth as I have done research using U-Pb geochronology. The suggestion of shape-shifting bodies of sand on the coasts, oceans, rivers and deserts reflecting the ever-changing Earth is also a valid model. I know you feel strongly towards sand, and the information it can provide, but do you believe this is a relevant way to present the “Big Ideas” to the public, to make it seem more relatable and visual? I am unsure of the implication of sand being a means of preserving evidence for evolution is as strong of an argument as others used. Also the discussion on humans altering the earth touches upon the dramatic changes we have imposed upon the earth, but doesn’t reflect the effects of those changes, something I would be interested to learn more about. I really value your perspective and it has forced me to look at things differently. Seeing how little understood the geosciences really are, I am constantly looking for examples to simplify the complicated concepts, and I appreciate your suggestions and will probably use them in future discussions.

Hi Sharla - many thanks for your thoughtful and thought-provoking comment. I take your point and I will of course admit that my theme influenced the way I approached this and yes, there are inevitable over-simplifications (perhaps stretching the point somewhat on occasion). Nevertheless, I like to think that my blog is read by non-specialists and I thought that trying to highlight how the compelling "nine big ideas" are illustrated in the world around us through a single, humble, material, provides a different way of looking at and thinking about those ideas. And you're right, the effects of human activity raise topics and issues that go far beyond this.